


Day 143

by Jacketarearmpants



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: 353 Days (Stranger Things), Angst, Canon Compliant, F/M, Post-Season/Series 01, Pre-Season/Series 02, Song fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:13:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23033776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jacketarearmpants/pseuds/Jacketarearmpants
Summary: Day 143/353. Mike calls out to El.Secret love, are you there?Will you answer my prayer?
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler
Kudos: 12





	Day 143

**Author's Note:**

> This is my monthly one shot, which gets posted on the 5th of every month. This month's theme is angst. Most of my fics so far have been very fluffy, so I decided to try out an angsty one. 
> 
> I had this idea when I was listening to the nightcore version of Anywhere But Here by Mayday Parade and realized how well it fits Mike during the 353 days, as he's constantly calling out for El and begging for a response from her.
> 
> The lyrics in between each section are lyrics from Mayday Parade’s Anywhere But Here. 
> 
> Shoutout to my lovely beta @leetheshark
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

**Wednesday, April 4, 1984**   


* * *

  
As his alarm clock rings, Mike finds himself wanting to take the little device, throw it as hard as he can against the wall, and just turn back over into himself. Mike is pretty good at pretending that everything is okay. Sometimes things are okay, enough to make the act a little easier. He's let himself get back into the rhythm of school, putting him far away from the idea of bad men and monsters. Having Will back does help, even though the constant taunts of "zombie boy" from their classmates isn't the best.

Unlike Will, though, Mike can at least pass for normal, avoiding the ever-watchful eyes of others. But normal is the furthest thing from how Mike really feels. Because deep inside, something pulls at him, sinking his thoughts in the blackness of his mind. It’s a feeling that he’s had since El vanished in front of his eyes—her last words, _"Goodbye, Mike,"_ still ringing in his ears. Mike finds himself empty, his heart missing the supernatural girl that saved him, the girl that can flip cars with her mind and break arms with a blink. Every night since she evaporated into the air of Mr. Clarke’s classroom, Mike's called out to her using his supercom, sitting inside the same fort they shared all those months ago. For 142 days, the only answer he's received is silence: unbelievable, soul crushing silence.

Mike worries about El all the time. Those thoughts eat away at his every waking moment. _Is she safe? Is she okay? Is she even alive?_ According to Ms. Byers, Chief Hopper hasn't found her—or in a worst case scenario, her body—yet. Thinking about that last possibility, Mike gulps hard. 

"Mike!" His mother's voice comes calling from downstairs. "Breakfast!" 

"Coming!" Mike calls back. The thoughts of El get pushed back into the bottom of his mind where they normally lie. Always sitting, always boiling, always waiting. Mike stands up from his bed, looks at himself in the mirror, and puts on the same smile he's been putting on since she disappeared. He may not be okay, but at least he can pretend.  


* * *

  


_Tonight is the one thing left  
And I haven't said it yet, I'm falling  
And the writings on the wall_

  


* * *

  
As El’s eyes open, they slowly adjust to the sunlight coming in through the blinds of the cabin. Hopper is long gone for the day, having left for work about two hours ago and letting El peacefully sleep. El glances around the cabin that, with each passing day, slowly becomes more familiar. Hopper found her in January, starving, freezing, and clinging to the last vestiges of life. Without even thinking about the possible consequences, he took her here, away from the Bad Men.

Since El's been here, she's learned so much. Right now, Hopper is teaching her something called Morse code to let them talk in silence, a task normally only possible with her powers. And El's gotten better at using her powers. She’s not at full strength yet, but she’s getting stronger each day. So far, her training has included lifting various objects around the cabin and, starting at the end of February, going back into the Void.

El's first trip back into that blackness was terrifying. She was afraid that she was going to unleash another beast and kill more people. But instead of finding a monster, she found her friends (saviors) again. Will has gotten much better since the first time El saw him in the Upside Down, with the color returning to his face and joy of reunion hanging in his heart. Lucas is still the stubborn one of the group, but he’s gotten to loosen up, with the familiarity of school helping him back to normal. Dustin still never shuts his mouth, but he’s found a new confidence. And last, there's Mike. 

Mike is different from the other three. El doesn’t know exactly what she feels toward Mike, aside from joy. She hasn’t really learned the words to describe all of her emotions. All she knows is that she wants to see him again. She wants to hold him and protect him. He didn't want her to kill or hurt people like Papa did and he isn't afraid of her like most people. He was the first person that ever gave her something and expected nothing in return. She remembers the feeling of him kissing her before she destroyed the Demogorgon. Had she not been holding him back with her powers, he would have fought alongside her. El knows that if he had done that, he would have died. The thought of Mike's death sends shivers down her spine. Every so often she'll ask Hopper when she's going to see them again, and she always gets the same answer in return. _"Soon.”_

As El gets out of bed, going through around the cabin and looking to occupy herself with something during the day, she smiles because she hopes that "Soon" will actually be soon.  


* * *

  


_You're all I've got right now  
No one else figures out this feeling  
And how lonely it can get (how lonely it can get)_

  


* * *

  
The fake smile Mike put on during breakfast only lasts about three periods into the school day. After that, he's just running on emotional fumes, shuffling his feet back and forth and waiting for some form of escape. Mike does find minor release when he joins the rest of the Party at their regular table in the cafeteria for a typical, almost painfully, normal lunch.  
“So—” Lucas asks after taking a bite of his PB&J. “What’s the plan for the weekend? Now that the weather’s gotten a little better, we can probably ride our bikes to the arcade.”

"I'm down," Dustin replies between mouthfuls of food. "I have some quarters lying around.”

“If one of you can spot me a couple quarters,” Will says softly, looking down at his tray and picking at his food, “I might be able to come.”

Mike knows how much it pains Will to ask for help, but there’s no secret about the Byers’ financial status—especially after all the stuff that happened in November, with the funeral and borderline destruction of their house. 

"I can get you, Will," Mike interjects. "My mom could probably throw in a few extra quarters." 

"Cool! So like one-o’clock on Saturday?" Lucas proposes, with the rest of the party nodding in agreement, before changing the subject. "Did you guys hear about the new _Friday the 13th_ movie coming out in like two weeks?' 

"They're basically all the same.” Dustin shrugs. “Just some killer breaks in and kills a bunch of kids.”  
Mike lets the ensuing argument between Dustin and Lucas fade into the background as he folds back into his own mind. He sometimes wonders if he's the only one that still cares about El. Will doesn't even know what she looks like, only knowing her as the mysterious and almost angelic figure who saved him from the literal version of hell. As for the other two, every time Mike brings up El, they either gush about her as if she’s some fictional superhero and not a real person or, if they’re in public, they get quiet and try to change the subject, as if there are still some remnants of fear left. Mike’s told them about the hope that he still has every time he calls out to her at night. He hasn't told them about the crushing heartbreak he feels when nothing comes back.  


* * *

  


_Today was misery  
And I just can't believe this happened  
And I finally broke down (finally broke down)_

  


* * *

  
According to Mr. Clarke, it takes 21 days to form a habit. In 143 days, Mike's trek into the basement after dinner has become more than just a habit. It’s an escape. The basement calls are the only time of the day that Mike can bare himself to the world. He can let out all of his pain and anguish, along with the happiness and hope that dwells inside him too. They’re the only moments when Mike can let _every_ feeling, good or bad, come pouring through the emptiness that usually sits inside him.  
The first time Mike decided to set up shop in the little fort still adorned with pillows, he didn't know what to expect. Will had just been admitted to the hospital and visiting time had ended, so the Party decided to go home with plans to meet back up the next day. After an awkward family dinner, Mike found himself in the basement, sitting in the fort and thinking about the girl who, just a few days earlier, had been sitting next to him. On a whim, he grabbed his supercom and decided to send out a message to El, wherever she was.

_"El, this is Mike. I want to know if you're okay. Please let me know. The bad men are gone. You can come back now.”_

Soon, the messages became routine, with Mike beginning each address saying what day it was, that he missed her, and that he just wanted to see her again. He hoped then that it was a temporary thing. He fantasized that by day 60, her voice would come cascading through the radio, telling him to go to Mirkwood where he first met her and that he would see her again and get his fairy tale ending with the girl of his dreams. But day 60 went by, followed by days 70, 80, 90, and 100, leaving Mike scared, but still hopeful, for the girl of his dreams.  


* * *

  


_Secret love, my escape  
Take me far, far away  
Secret love, are you there  
Will you answer my prayer_

  


* * *

  
El began seeing Mike’s addresses through the Void during the middle of March. She was checking in on Mike one day when she saw him go into the basement. She followed him while in the Void, and found him sitting in the little fort that she still remembers so fondly. He picked up the radio that he always seemed to be using with his friends, and El expected him to call out to Dustin or Lucas to plan something for them to do over the weekend. Instead, her heart shattered into a million pieces when she realized what he was doing: he was crying out for her.  


* * *

  


_Please take me anywhere but here  
Anywhere but here_

  


* * *

  
Now, on Day 143, Mike begins his daily address anew.

"El, this is Mike. It’s day 143. I still miss you and I hope you're out there. Today was a pretty good day in school. Mr Clarke announced the date for the spring science fair. Hopefully, me, Dustin, Lucas, and Will could enter that again. You remember Dustin and Lucas? Yeah, we're thinking of building a radio antenna to allow us to talk at longer distances. It’s pretty cool. Not as cool as you, though."

Mike pauses. The lump in his throat tightens as his emotions, all of them, start to break free. El sees the corner of his mouth start to tremble as his smile fades. "El, If you're out there, please let me know." Mike looks over at the empty spot next to him in the fort. “I just want to know if you’re okay, that’s all.”

Even though El is a friend, that’s a lie. Mike wants more than just confirmation that El’s okay. He wants _her._ He wants to eat Eggos with her. He wants to hold her. He wants to take her to the Snow Ball, to kiss her, to show her more of the world she was deprived of. Mike blinks back tears and stares into the emptiness of the basement, pleading, hoping, wanting. “El, I just want to see you again.” Tears track down his face as he pulls the supercom away from his mouth, hands trembling, his heart just wanting for the radio to crackle back to life. “El, I… I lov—”

Mike’s words are swallowed up by a sob.

El watches in the silence of the Void as Mike breaks down crying. Any words he attempts to say are consumed by agony. El has her own grief to shed, but in the Void, there are no tears. She feels them build up in her physical body as her projection can only stare. It would be so easy for her to reach out through the inky blackness and touch him, to let him know that she’s there right now, watching and waiting. It would be so easy, one day after Hopper leaves, to just to walk out of the cabin, walk to Mike’s house, kick in the front door and see him again. But she knows there would be a risk: the Bad Men, or even the Demogorgon. And she isn't stupid. 

The two of them sit there in the basement, separated by so much, as Mike’s grief comes out in sobbing wails and burning tears. Eventually, those sniffles and tears come to a stop. Mike looks up again, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand before picking up the supercom for one last message.

"Goodbye, El. I miss you.”

With those final words spoken, Mike collapses the antenna of the supercom, places it on the pillow next to him, and begins his shaky journey back up the stairs. He exits El’s field of view, leaving her only to stare at the empty pillow fort. Opening her eyes back in the real world, letting the Void melt away, El stands up and removes her blindfold as the cabin’s surroundings become stable again. 

Once everything clicks back into place, El feels her own tears start to fall. She just wants to see Mike again. That’s all she wants: to see him again, to hold him again, maybe even to kiss him again. She sits down on the couch, brings her knees to her chest, and cries. In this moment, the rest of the world doesn’t matter. The hours pass like nothing. She cries until she hears the secret knock against the door and unlocks it with her powers to let Hopper back in.

El doesn't run up to greet him like she normally would. Instead, she stays firmly planted on the couch, knees still hugged to her chest, head still buried.

“El? You okay?” Hopper’s face is etched with concern as he sits down next to El and wraps his arms around her. “What’s wrong?”

El looks up, her eyes still sparkling with tears. “When am I going to see him again?” 

“Soon, kid,” Hopper sighs. He ruffles El’s hair with his hand. “Soon.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading! If you enjoyed it, feel free to leave a kudos or comment.  
> Please follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Jacketsarepants)  
> As for future fic postings, I am happy to announce that on Sunday March 8th, I will post the prologue and chapter 1 of my massive superhero AU entitled “Gifted” that I have been working on since December. Uploads for that will be once every two weeks.


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